Trini punches pack a punch!

Why Trinis like punch so? It have box juice, tin juice and sweet drink…but no, a Styrofoam cup filled to the brim with a cold, frothy punch will do the trick. 

Perhaps you’ve already enjoyed many unique blends from your neighbourhood punch man. There’s Shaka’s punches in Marabella and Harry’s punch and Heavy D punch bar in Chaguanas and so on. 

The punch basics include peanut, barbadine, banana, and sea moss to unique flavours like papaya, soursop, wheat germ, Guinness, linseed and beetroot. Seriously? Linseed? Isn’t that what we use to polish the wood floor for Christmas??

Dried sea moss. It is actually Irish moss which grows on rocks close to the shore in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean sea. Like other sea vegetables, it is rich in iodine and other trace minerals and apparently has a number of health benefits. Sea moss is reputed to have certain ummm…enhancement properties among Caribbean men.

http://www.superfoods-for-superhealth.com/irish-moss.html

Barbadine or giant granadilla fruit – the health benefits range from lowering cholesterol and blood pressure to a possible bactericide? 

http://www.onlyfoods.net/giant-granadilla.html

Beetroot – amazing health benefits including being a powerful antioxidant (just look at that color!), and lowers blood pressure and improve blood flow in a matter of minutes. 

http://www.healthdietmedicine.com/health-benefits-of-beetroot/ 

Papaya punch made from papaya – the world’s healthiest food? 

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=47

Soursop – nature’s cancer cure or neurotoxin? 

http://www.cancercenter.com/discussions/blog/experts-caution-against-soursop/

In the Caribbean, many people believe in “bush medicine” as do people in several other cultures. Why take a tablet when you can drink a healthy, delicious freshly-made punch instead?

Smoothies have become a very popular fad in the US and elsewhere. But, we Trinis were on to the health benefits of the punch drink for a long time now.